How to Harvest and Flash Freeze Herbs

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Since the hot weather is coming to an end, it is time to start harvesting those herbs to be used year-round.

I grow rosemary, thyme, basil, oregano, flat-leaf parsley, mint and chives. The rosemary, oregano and thyme live in the garden all year so I don’t fool with harvesting them, but once the heat is gone the basil, parsley, mint and chives die.

In order to harvest herbs that I would like to use “fresh”, here is what I do:

How to Flash Freeze Herbs I put about 4 packed cups of the herb (washed and stems removed) into the food processor, add about 1/2 a cup of water and pulse until finely chopped. Then I put them into ice cube trays, then I filled them up with enough water to cover the tops. Once they froze, I just popped them out onto the counter and put into a freezer bag.

I can pull those out anytime to use as I would fresh parsley or cilantro, especially in pastas, or hot dishes. They can even be used in fresh salad dressings, just thaw and measure out how much you need. I am going to do the same thing with my mint and chives. You can do this with any herb you like to use “fresh”.

Comments

Comments

I freeze my herbs too. I love to have them in the winter. I usually wash them and then spin them in my salad spinner. I put plastic wrap on a big cookie sheet and flash freeze them. I have saved big empty spice containers from Sam’s club and put frozen herbs in them in the door of my freezer. Then I can just use as much or as little as I want. Works wonderful with chives, flat leaf parsley, tarrogan and basil.

Kelly, I am just courious about the Rosemary. We have just moved into a house with an exciting herb garden. Do I need to do anything with the rosemary plant and will it survive the winter? We are in Jackson. There is also a Lavender plant. Any clue about it? Thanks for your help.

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